Abner Ravenwood spent his early days assisting Flinders Petrie, helping excavate Palestine, and earned degrees in history and archaeology at Yale and Harvard. He also studied anthropology under Franz Boas. At one point, while discussing anthropology with Sir Adrian Braidthwaite, he accused the British of practicing "armchair anthropology," theorizing on other cultures from the comfort of home, based on reports from braver individuals. Braidthwaite bristled at the suggestion, but later realized the accusation was largely correct. Ravenwood's accusation was partially the impetus for Braidthwaite's 1910 expedition into Africa.